A man, who allegedly impersonated a valet, is accused of kidnapping an elderly woman and then driving her from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, prosecutors say.
Michael J. Guerrero, 36, is charged with carjacking, kidnapping, indecent assault, among other charges, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. He pleaded not guilty on Monday.
The incident occurred on September 14 when the victim, who was not identified, went to a 99 Restaurant in Pembroke, Massachusetts, but left without her wallet or cell phone. The septuagenarian returned to the establishment at around 9.15 p.m., when she was approached by a man “claiming to work at the restaurant as a valet driver,” the DA’s office said.
The restaurant’s front door was locked, so the man offered to drive her to the back entrance, which he told her was unlocked.
The man then entered the driver's seat of the woman's car, driving her away from the restaurant parking lot and toward the highway, according to the district attorney’s office.
The man then told the woman he wanted her to “perform lewd acts” and warned that he had a gun if she did not comply, prosecutors said.
When the driver approached a four-way intersection — in what the 75-year-old believed to be Providence or Johnston, Rhode Island — she attempted to escape the vehicle. “The suspect then turned off the engine, exited the car and threw the keys away from the victim before fleeing the scene,” the district attorney’s office said.
The woman was able to return to Massachusetts and reported the “violent incident” to Pembroke police the following day.
The police then posted images from surveillance footage of the man on their social media accounts, asking for information.
“It appears the person approached multiple vehicles and may have been asking for a ride to Providence, RI,” police wrote on Facebook at the time.
Within four hours of their posts, Pembroke Police received information from four local restaurants indicating that the suspect had visited each of their establishments on September 14, the police said.
Investigators determined the man had used a ride-share app to move around that evening, prosecutors said. Guerrero was arrested on September 24 in Providence and was extradited to Massachusetts the next day.
Guerrero appeared in court for his arraignment on Monday, when he was ordered to be held without bail pending the result of a dangerousness hearing on October 6.
